Bills Hoping To Avoid Usual Struggles With December Ticket Sales

More than 15,000 tickets remain unsold for the Bills' Dec. 2 home game

The Bills will play five of their final seven games at home, including the "annual 'home' game at Toronto," and how much "support the Bills get remains a concern," according to John Wawrow of the AP. Tonight's Dolphins-Bills game in Buffalo is sold out, but there are “questions whether they can sell out their three remaining games.” The team this week announced that it “still has more than 15,000 tickets unsold" for its Dec. 2 game against the Jaguars. There also are “more than 10,000 tickets available" for Rams-Bills on Dec. 9 and the season finale Jets-Bills game on Dec. 30. The Bills have had “difficulty selling out home games in December” since HOFer Jim Kelly was with the team. The Bills sold out only 55% of the club's games in the '90s and the figures “haven't been much better since.” It is a concern that has “led the Bills and U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer to question why the NFL would continue scheduling so many games in Buffalo this late in the season.” Bills CEO Russ Brandon said, “It's a proven fact that in December in Buffalo, it's difficult to attain sellout status at our facility. December games are a challenge. But competitively, there's no place we'd rather play meaningful games than at home in front of our fans.” NFL VP/Communications Brian McCarthy said, “We are aware of the Bills' preferences for limiting late-season home games. We know we are not able to make every team happy every year” (AP, 11/13).